Merger and acquisition (M&A) volume in China stood at $43.1 billion in the first quarter of this year, according to statistics from Thomson Financial.

Cross-border M&A reached $28.5 billion, four times the year-earlier value, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Friday.

The manufacturing sector had $21.8 billion in M&A transactions, accounting for more than half of the total. It was followed by the financial and energy industries, with $7.2 billion and $6 billion, respectively.

On February 1, the Aluminum Corporation of China and the US aluminum producer Alcoa bought a 12 percent stake in the British-listed company of iron ore giant Rio Tinto for $14.05 billion, the largest overseas investment ever by a Chinese enterprise.